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Biff Tannen
Biff Howard Tannen was born on March 26, 1937 in Hill Valley, California. He was the great-grandson of Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen, the son of Kid TannenBack to the Future: The Game - Episode 1: It's About Time, and the grandfather of Griff Tannen. He was not very bright and only got through high school by bullying George McFly to do his homework for him. Biff was feared by most of his schoolmates. In 1955, he surrounded himself with a gang (Match, Skinhead, and 3-D). He also had a crush on Lorraine Baines and referred to her as "my girl", and continued to take an interest in her even 30 and 60 years later. Lorraine did not return the sentiments. By 1985, Biff's marital status is unknown, although Biff had a grandson Griff by 2015, indicating that Biff had at least one child by 1985. According to some sources, Biff had a son, Biff Jr., who, it is suggested owned the Cafe 80's). Referred to in an early draft script for ''Part II, and in the animated series In Part 1 of the Back to the Future game from Telltale in 2010-2011, in 1986 old Edna Stricklland does briefly call out the window to a "Tiff Tannen" suspiciously loitering by a car. Edna threatens to get Tiff's Father if Tiff doesn't move. It is possible that Tiff is the missing generation between Biff and Griff Tannen, but Tiff is not shown or heard, however, and is of unknown gender and age. It is possible that Tiff Tannen is Tiffany Tannen of non-canon storyline fame, but this is unclear. Biff was noted for mixed metaphors: for example, he said "make like a tree and get out of here" instead of "make like a tree and leave" on more than one occasion. He also once said "That's about as funny as a screen door on a battleship" instead of submarine. During his theft of the DeLorean in 1991, he said "Have a nice trip, see you next winter!" His insult of choice was "butthead", and one of his routines was to knock on someone's head and say "Hello? Hello? Anybody home?" He liked cars and ended up with a career waxing and cleaning them with his auto detailing business. Biff was a bully, but could be nice when necessary, usually to get out of trouble. Pre-1955 Although there are vague details of Biff's life before 1955, exact details are not known. What is known is that he had been living with his grandmother, Gertrude Tannen, at 1809 Mason Street for in November 1955, rather than with either parent. Biff as a youngster was known to bully other children from around the age of five. As he went through high school, he repeated a year (explaining why, despite being a year older than George and Lorraine, he was in the same grade as them). His documentary in 1985A explained that he did it in order to help out the high school football team.Full video from Biff Tannen Museum Biff also owned his own car, a powerful black Ford Super De Luxe Convertible, in which Skinhead, Match and 3-D occasionally traveled with him as passengers. The car could not be started by anyone except Biff, as he mentioned to Terry – who had believed it to be fitted with a kill-switch – when collecting the vehicle from the repair shop. In 1985A, the car (having been newly restored) was one of the main exhibits in the Biff Tannen Museum. The late 20th century In the original timeline, Biff started bullying George McFly when they were kids and never stopped. Over the next 30 years, Biff would continue to bully and intimidate George, and they both ended up working for the same company, where Biff became George's supervisor (due to George doing all Biff's work for him to get promoted). Biff's crush on Lorraine never died either, even after she had married George. However, things changed when the McFlys' youngest son Marty McFly accidentally traveled back through time to 1955 using his friend Doc Brown's DeLorean time machine, interfering with his parents' first meeting. Marty, using the anachronistic name "Calvin Klein," also managed to get on the wrong side of Biff by standing up to him, something which Biff was not used to. Marty was also indirectly responsible for causing Biff to crash his car into a manure truck, and this led to Biff finding Marty and Lorraine on the night of the school dance (November 12, 1955). Biff's gang trapped Marty in the trunk of another car and Biff tried to get his way with Lorraine. George came along, as part of the plan he and Marty had made where George would find Marty "parking" with Lorraine, but soon realized that the pretend rescue was now a real one. For the first time, George stood up to Biff to stop him from a sexual assault on Lorraine. Biff responded by attempting to break George's arm. Lorraine, trying to pull Biff away from George, was knocked to the ground. This enraged George, who knocked out Biff with one punch. As a result, George became much more confident George, and was no longer one of Biff's victims. Lorraine and George fell in love, and went on to marry. It is unclear whether Biff found someone else to bully, or whether being knocked out, by the supposed weakest kid in school, had ended Biff's days of bullying people. Since Biff no longer had George to do his work for him, he now had to do things for himself. He started up his auto-detailing business, which he owned and ran himself, and by 1985, the McFlys were among his most loyal customers, and Biff's subservient attitude was demonstrated by his addressing George as "Mr. McFly". George seemed amused at Biff's efforts to get away with as little work as possible (although Biff's comment about already doing two coats of wax on the car may have been a small good-natured joke) though he and Lorraine privately credited him with unwittingly helping them get together. George and Biff appeared to have become friends, or were at least on amicable terms. The future Marty, Doc and Marty's girlfriend Jennifer Parker traveled forward in time from 1985 to 2015 – unaware that their departure had been witnessed by Biff. Over the next 30 years, he remembered seeing the flying DeLorean taking off. At the age of 78, Biff was still mean, and was still waxing cars in 2015 (although he had a better grasp of mixed metaphors than he did 60 years before). The fact that he still owned and managed Biff's Auto Waxing may suggest that he has fallen upon hard times and still needs to keep working to earn a living. However, it may have also been the case that he was working more as a way to keep active, as some retirees have done. It is clear that Biff is quite bitter and resentful as a senior citizen. Formerly the bully, Biff was himself being bullied by his grandson Griff. Biff still seemed to like bullying people, including Marty (who he thinks is Marty's future son Martin McFly Jr.), and the handle on his walking cane was in the shape of a closed fist – although he remained cautious and apprehensive around George McFly. Biff's crush on Lorraine still lingered, as he told the young man, "Say hi to your grandma for me". On October 21, 2015, Biff overheard Doc Brown talking, and realized that Doc Brown had invented a time machine. Biff picked up a sports almanac that Doc had thrown in the trash, followed the DeLorean to the Hilldale neighborhood, then stole the DeLorean and took it back to November 12, 1955, so that he could alter his life by handing the almanac to give to his younger self. However upon returning to 2015 Biff became the victim of a time paradox. By giving the almanac to his younger self, he had changed the timeline, erasing his existence in 2015. In this new version of the timeline, Lorraine shoots Biff in 1996, according to official FAQ's.FAQs about the trilogy (2002/2009 Back to the Future Part III DVD, 2010 DVD set Bonus Disc) Biff got out of the car with difficulty upon his return to 2015, then slumped behind a parked car, fading into nothingness as the DeLorean flew away. The top part of Biff's cane and the receipt for the sports almanac remained in the DeLorean, from which Doc deduced Biff's theft of the time machine. It is unclear what happened to 78 year old Biff Tannen after Marty and Doc corrected the time-line, since they did not interfere with old Biff's theft of the machine. Biff's apparent pain and subsequent collapse, with no one to administer aid, may have been contributed to by the stress of his travel. Of course it could simply have been a regular heart attack brought on by old age. The alternate present, 1955-1985 Young Biff used the sports almanac to bet on the results of sporting events, since knew the outcomes in advance, giving him the ability to cheat. In 1958, starting at age 21, Biff soon became very rich and powerful, spending, eventually starting up his toxic waste company Biffco and a casino hotel in Hill Valley (at least 27 stories high), named "Biff's Pleasure Palace", changing the laws of California to legalize casino gambling in 1979. Biff had apparently used his money to influence American politics as well as California politics. In addition to his lobbying of legalization of gambling before the California Legislature Biff also spearheaded a constitutional amendment to repeal the 22nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Biff was apparently an admirer of Richard Nixon, whom by repealing presidential term limits he had helped get elected to at least four terms as President of the United States. Biff had presumably altered the timeline by either bribing to cover up the Watergate investigations or resorting to outright murder. President Nixon had plans (at least as of 1983 (while seeking a fifth consecutive term), and leaving the Vietnam War unresolved as of 1983, which meant Biff's ways has effected the world as well. Though he was promoted (at least by himself) as "America's greatest living folk hero", Hill Valley in 1985A had become a center of crime, corruption, and gang warfare. Despite Biff's great wealth and many female admirers, Biff did not have the woman he always wanted, and would still have to wait decades before his time had come. In this version of history, he had been married three times. Not much is known about Biff's earlier marriages. His first wife was unnamed and may have also been the woman he had married in the original timeline. That marriage may have been dissolved either by divorce or her death (as it may have also been intended in the proper timeline). Biff's second wife was Marylin Monroe, who had still been destined to die in 1962. The death of Biff's second wife arguably renewed Biff's feelings for Lorraine. On March 15, 1973, Biff murdered George McFly, though Lorraine had not yet learned the truth by 1985A. Biff married her later that year, giving her financial support and offering to help the widowed Lorraine through her tragedy, but he apparently did not adopt her three young children as his own. Biff's power and prestige had gone to his head, and he was quite abusive to Lorraine. He also paid doctors to drastically increase Lorraine's bustline, and gave only marginal support to his three stepchildren. He may have used his power to keep David McFly out of jail, but had no qualms about using his power to revoke Dave's probation, presumably by bribing the probation officer. Biff may have also been allowing Linda McFly to live the carefree life of a playgirl, but warned that he would stop paying off her credit cards. Biff paid for Marty's tuition at a boarding school in Switzerland, but this may be more likely he wanted at least one of his stepchildren away from him as far as possible since Marty was still a high school student, moreso than trying to get Marty the best education he could provide. At some point, perhaps in 1996, Lorraine had had enough. For whatever reason, Biff was apparently no longer alive by 2015 after having altered the timeline. This version of reality was erased when Marty and Doc went back to 1955 and got the almanac from Biff before he could use it, causing Biff to crash into the very same manure truck a second time. The timeline went back to how it was at the end of the first film, where Biff was running his auto detailing business. The improved 1985 After Marty had gone to 1885, there was some question about whether the arrest (and possible hanging) of Buford Tannen would negate the existence of some of Buford's descendants, including Biff. Once Marty had returned to 1985 for the second time, however, Biff was spending a second day working as an auto-detailer - but now, he has a red jacket, not a green. His existence might lead one to believe that Buford had sired his son prior to being arrested. Whle normally maintaining an appearance of being obsequious, Biff's original bad attitude still lurked beneath the surface and emerge occasionally, like his reaction to seeing the DeLorean take off or when he snapped at Marty when Marty approached his truck after his adventure in 1885. 1986 During the estate sale of Doc's garage, Biff was present and was quite apt to picking up or taking things that were originally Doc's. Here Biff's aggressiveness took on a more passive element as Marty argued with him over Doc's notebook that was hidden inside a demonstration model of the Hill Valley Courthouse. Biff, however would refuse to comply with Marty's requests. To efficiently rid Biff of the notebook, Marty grabbed his guitar and turned on the CRM-114 amplifier. Biff bearishly bumped Marty aside and cranked the settings up to max. Marty stood back as an inevitable blast came out of the speaker, sending Biff to the back wall, and allowing him to grab the notebook from Biff's possession. Alternate 1986 Biff was encountered again upon Marty's return to 1986, albeit this time as an enforcer and member of the Tannen crime family, the fifth largest in California. Thanks to changes in the past, his father Kid Tannen never went to prison, and as such remained leader of the local mob, turning it into the powerful Tannen family crime syndicate. He is shown for the first time to have two brothers, Cliff and Riff Tannen. Both supported him as they enforced the Tannens' rule over the Hill Valley townsfolk, including George and Lorraine McFly. In this reality, Biff is even meaner and more violent than ever. After he was slugged by George in 1955, he and his brothers viciously retaliated and broke his legs, making him a crippled paraplegic. He and Lorraine suffered intimidation and paid protection money, while Marty was run out of town for causing an "incident with a manure truck" to befall Biff.Back to the Future: The Game - Episode 2: Get Tannen! Citizen Brown's Alternate 1986 In an alternate timeline where Doc becomes a tyranical despot by the name of "Citizen Brown", Biff was a broken man who lived in fear of Citizen Brown and his merciless regime of order and control. When Marty swore in front of him, Biff reacted with fear and nervousness, as apparently any infractions in Citizen Brown's state of order were dealt with harshly. Here he was still the Hellion at one point, only to be brought before Citizen Brown and "brainwashed" into becoming the first of Citizen Brown's newest campaign of enforcing order known as "Citizen Plus". Now, if even the thought of wrongdoing crosses his mind, he gets physically ill, even to the point of nausea and vomiting. Biff now spends his day promoting the "Citizen Plus" campaign. ''Back to the Future: The Ride'' In 1991, Doc established the Institute of Future Technology (IFT). On May 2, 1991, time travel volunteers from the IFT went back to 1955 to make sure that the timeline was back to normal following the events of the films. In 1955, 18-year old Biff stowed away in the time machine and once in 1991, stole it and blasted through time. Doc followed Biff through time in the new 8-seater DeLorean. Biff visited October 25, 2015 (almost the 30th anniversary of the first time travel experiment), an active volcano, and the Ice Age before heading back to 1991. Biff was then taken back to 1955, where he belonged, by Doc. Of course because of this experience, Biff should be aware of Doc's time travel experiments as far back as 1955. Yet is still surprised at seeing the DeLorean fly in 1985, even though he flew one himself. Why he never hassled Doc during the preceding 30 years is also not explained. ''Back to the Future: The Animated Series'' 1992 Biff was shown to act like a milder version of his original "asshole-ish" 1985 incarnation. It would appear his obsequious act in front of George and Lorraine was simply that, an act. Biff was generally difficult to get along with and sometimes causing trouble. He had returned to wearing a crew-cut like he did in 1955. Since one of his numerous ancestors or descendants were encountered, Marty rhetorically questioned if there was a "Tannen" in every time and place they visited when they went to ancient Rome. Biff was once shown driving a tow truck, indicating he still had his automotive detailing business. In 1967, he saw the Comet Kablooey and thought it was an alien ship. In 1992, he tried claiming Jennifer Parker's grandparents' ranch after finding a deed saying the Tannen family owned it. However, Marty, Jules and Verne went back to 1875 to make sure that the Tannens never got the deed. Behind the scenes *Biff Tannen had been named in the original, 1980 draft of the script for Back to the Future, and in earlier drafts, "Biff H. Tannen" was referred to, along with a mention that the H. stood for "Howard". While this might suggest that Biff is a nickname, the original script included a sequence where Biff ruins an electric drill and then says to George, "Oh--and one more thing: my kid's selling Girl Scout cookies. I told her you were good for 4 boxes. Don't make me a liar!". A similar scene was filmed for Back to the Future, with a pushy neighbor and his daughter getting George to buy a case of peanut brittle. The neighbor, whose scenes were cut from the film, was named Howard. *J.J. Cohen who later played one of Biff's gang was considered to play Biff but did not appear physically imposing next to Eric Stoltz, who was originally cast as Marty. He did appear more imposing next to the shorter Michael J. Fox who had been the first choice to play Marty and who would later replace Stoltz in the role. On the DVD commentary for the first film, producer Bob Gale noted that Cohen may very well have won the role had Fox been cast from the beginning. *By the time he reaches age 78, Biff is a lot smarter than he had been at 48 or at 18. Besides the more obvious point, where he is with the 1955 Biff, is exasperated with Biff's penchant for mixing up metaphors and corrects him and blasts him for sounding "like a damn fool", he also quickly recognizes an opportunity to borrow a Sports Almanac and a time machine, he readily figures out how to operate the machine without any prior instructions. In addition to stealing the car, he has to (a) put fuel in Mr. Fusion (b) input an appropriate destination time © turn the time circuits on, and (d) reaching the proper speed (88 mph) for time displacement. After locating his younger self, he has to repeat the sequence and set a return time soon after his moment of departure so that nobody would realize the car had ever been gone. It's possible that old Biff might have needed more than one try before he successfully traveled to November 12, 1955. It is also possible that the camcorder with the videotape of Doc's instructions was still in the car. *In the Bttf II novelization, at the Cafe 80's, old Biff comes to regret being such a jerk and realizes he wasted his life. Of course this epiphany is quickly forgotten upon his discovery of the Almanac and the DeLorean. Ironically, in his attempt to make his life better he ends up making himself a much bigger jerk. As a result of this, he ends up actually guaranteeing his demise. *Biff appeared in Back to the Future: The Animated Series, though not in every episode. Thomas F. Wilson provided the voice for Biff, who always wore a red bowling shirt. In the first season, Biff often would appear after the closing credits and would tell a lame (intentionally) joke. He was often seen as a character in the second season episodes. Wilson supplied the voice for many, if not all, of the Tannen relatives encountered in other eras. *In an interview in the official Bttf Club magazine, Thomas Wilson speculates that Biff's grandmother was probably the primary reason Biff grew up to be such a jerk. *At the Biff Tannen Museum, a sign can be seen saying "Smoking required". Appearances *''Back to the Future'' *''Back to the Future Part II'' *''Back to the Future Part III'' *''Back to the Future novelizations'' *''Back to the Future: The Ride'' *''Back to the Future: The Animated Series'' **"A Friend In Deed" **"Bravelord and the Demon Monstrux" **"The Money Tree" **"Hill Valley Brown-Out" **"My Pop's an Alien" **"Verne Hatches an Egg" *''Back to the Future: The Game'' **''Back to the Future: The Game - Episode 1: It's About Time'' **''Back to the Future: The Game - Episode 2: Get Tannen!'' **''Back to the Future: The Game - Episode 3: Citizen Brown'' Notes and references Category:Individuals Category:1955 Category:1985 Category:1985A Category:1986 Category:1991 Category:1992 Category:2015 Category:Tannen family Category:1986A Category:1986B